Atomic sensors based on laser cooled atoms may be of significant commercial importance. For example, they may be used for timing and navigation in GPS-denied environments. Traditional designs of these cold atom sensors direct the requisite laser beams from a laser source by using individual beam splitters and mirrors on kinematic-type or flexure-type adjustable mounts. Such mounting schemes may be prone to alignment creep during thermal cycling, and also can have large induced pointing drift over temperature ranges. In certain implementation, the fixed portion of adjustable mirror mounts may be held by a metal scaffolding surrounding an ultra-high vacuum (UHV) chamber containing the atoms. In this implementation, any mismatches of the coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) between the various materials making up the scaffolding for the members can lead to pointing drift over temperature, as support arms contract or expand by differing amounts. If bulk retarding elements, such as wave plates, are used to prepare the polarization of the light field, changes in temperature can cause changes in the thickness of the waveplates, and in the angle at which the laser beams pass through the plates, leading to variation of laser beam polarization, which can lead the location of the trapped atoms in the magneto-optical trap (MOT) in the UHV chamber to shift. Further, in a miniature atomic sensor based on a vacuum chamber which is also a microwave resonator, changes in the position of the trap can lead to long term frequency instability by coupling to spatial phase inhomogeneities. Thus, conventional methods of manipulating the laser beams required for such a clock are not suitable for highly miniaturized clocks which are stable over relevant operating temperature swings.